Charm
by BunniesOfDoom
Summary: Victor tries to figure out a way to deal with his overzealous fans. Pre-series.


**So this is based on a request from Sab, who wanted to see a younger long-haired Victor learning how to deal with his fangirls. It's a sort of prequel to one of the oneshots in my fic Domestic Bliss (which you guys should definitely check out! please), but you don't need to have read it to understand what's going on.**

 **I didn't set an exact age for Victor here, but I imagine he's around 15 or 16 here. I called Victor's fans the Goddesses here (short for Goddesses of Victory), and I'm also going with the headcanon that Lilia used to coach Victor when he was younger. Enjoy!**

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The squeals of "Vitya!" follow Victor as he darts around a corner, looking for a place to hide. He ducks his head to let his long hair cover his face; it's an attempt to disguise himself so that his fans won't recognize him, but given that long hair is his trademark, it's probably not going to work. He listens carefully, barely daring to breathe for a few minutes until the footsteps and shrieking slowly die down.

Finally allowing himself to relax, Victor lets out a sigh of relief—then nearly jumps out of his skin when there's a shout of "Vitya!" from behind him. He whirls around in horror, giving a startled yelp, but it's only Yakov. Georgi and Lilia are trailing awkwardly on his heels. "Vitya!" he says sternly. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry," Victor pants, trying to get his heart rate back under control. "The Goddesses were following me again."

Yakov grunts in sympathy. "We've got to get those girls under control."

Despite his recent harrowing escape, Victor still feels the need to defend his fans. "They don't mean any harm," he argues. "They're just a little overenthusiastic." Most famous groups of skaters had a pretty loyal following, but Victor's fans took that to a whole new level.

"Victor, you've been cornered by your fans how many times now?" Yakov demands, unsympathetic to Victor's cause. "You need to be focused at your competitions, and not be wasting all of your energy running away from overzealous fangirls."

"I'll find a way to deal with it," Victor promises. He doesn't want to be rude to any of his fans, and he's sure if he just thinks the problem over for a bit, he can come up with a good solution.

"Well, if you say so," Yakov says, clearly unconvinced, before glancing down at his watch. "Enough of this. We should go back to the hotel, you two have your short programs tomorrow and you need to be well-rested."

Victor is still thinking about his dilemma the next morning before his short program. He doesn't let his distraction mess up his skating, and easily surpasses his personal best with a stunning performance. He's easily in the lead by the time all the scores are in, and naturally, the moment they walk out of the doors to the rink, they're immediately swarmed by a group of reporters and fans.

The reporters are easy enough to disperse, once they've gotten their scoop. The Goddesses, however, are harder to get rid of. Apparently their disappointment from losing their quarry yesterday has only fueled their determination today. Victor finds himself looking around for an escape route, but there isn't one; he's backed up against the wall. When he glances around for any sign of Yakov, Georgi, or Lilia, they're nowhere to be found.

He forces himself to take a deep breath and stay calm. It's fine, he can handle this. Victor loves his fans, and surely he can get them to give him some space without Yakov shouting at them. He clears his throat nervously. No response.

 _Pretend that you're on the ice._ Victor shoots the nearest girls a dazzling smile, the charming one he flashes the judges when he's skating. It seems to work, he can already see them melting a little. _Keep it going._ "Ladies," he begins, tone confident and smooth, enough to bring the most determined of reporters to their knees. "As much as I love chatting with you, I'm afraid that I need to rest up for my free skate tomorrow. I'm sure that you all understand!" He punctuates his statement with another dazzling grin and a wink.

The effect is instantaneous. The Goddesses have all stilled around him, no longer trying to pester him with questions or grab at his long hair. Victor breathes a sigh of relief and carefully weaves through the crowd of love-struck girls, although apparently his caution is unnecessary—they don't even seem to notice his presence. When he finally exits the crowd he doesn't have to go very far to find Yakov. Lilia and his coach are waiting nearby, with their arms crossed and impatient looks on their faces. Georgi skulks darkly behind them.

"I see that you've taken care of your little problem," Yakov says, gesturing to the group of frozen girls. It's actually pretty impressive, if not more than a little creepy.

"Yep!" Victor beams. "All it took was a little charm." He glances behind himself worriedly. "We should get going now, though, before they realize that I'm gone."

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 **Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please leave a review! Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **This work is also cross-posted to AO3.**


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